If you’re one of the lucky students at the University of California at Davis, you will have spotted the sheepmowers. These are the university’s flock of domestic sheep that have been campus lawnmowers since 2021, when Covid masking and social-distancing protocols were adopted, dramatically altering campus life. Besides keeping the lawns neatly trimmed, the sheep have proved to be a powerful mood boost for students, staff, faculty and visitors.
In addition to grazing on invasive weeds and keeping the grass short, the sheepmowers enrich the environment by depositing organic fertilizer at regular intervals on the landscapes where they graze.
Sheepmowers also provide a lot of other environmental benefits, particularly reducing noise pollution and decreasing fossil fuel consumption by mechanical lawnmowers, reports Forbes. But a recent study by the university goes further than even those benefits. It reports that sheepmowers are providing some surprising and unexpected bonuses: they improve peoples’ mental health and well-being, and reduce student stress levels simply by ... being.
Here's a little video explaining the many benefits researchers at the university discovered: